WifiPerformance.md

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Testing the speed of wireless adapters

All wireless adapters were tested under consistent conditions - each positioned in close proximity (1-2m) and connected to the same wireless access point (AP). The adapters utilized various interface types, including USB, SDIO, and PCI, to evaluate performance across different hardware configurations.

[](#contribute)

Test Equipment

• Access Point: Zyxel NWA130BE (Wi-Fi 7)
• Network Switches:
  • Netgear XS712T (10Gb)
  • Netgear XS508M (10Gb)
  • TP Link SG3218XP-M2 (2.5Gb PoE)
• Power Switches: APC AP7920
• Client Devices:
  • Multiple single-board computers equipped with onboard wireless modules or PCI Wi-Fi cards

Software and Infrastructure

• Inventory & source of truth: NetBox holds every board in the lab, its status, and its capabilities. A scan-daemon continuously discovers boards on the lab subnets (nmap / arp / ssh) and reconciles NetBox.
• Orchestration: the Armbian autotests framework reads each board's capabilities from NetBox and runs a per-board pipeline — flashing a clean image where the hardware allows, otherwise testing upgrade / reboot / performance — including the WiFi throughput measurement.
• Power control: dispatched to the armbian/infra backends (APC PDU, TP-Link PoE, DUT relay); no power port is ever switched by hand during a run.
• Automation: GitHub Actions orchestrate the fleet runs and test execution.
• Results: published as a time series to armbian.github.io so regressions stay visible over time.

Methodology

Overview of the WiFi performance test process:

1. Power On Devices
   └─ Embedded WiFi-capable devices and USB wireless adapters are powered on.

2. Configure Wireless Connection
   └─ Devices are configured to connect to a predefined access point (SSID).

3. Connect to WiFi Network
   └─ Network connectivity is validated to ensure the device is routable.

4. Measure Performance (iperf3)
   ├─ Perform reverse (-R) and forward iperf3 tests
   └─ Measure throughput and link quality.

5. Collect System & Network Info
   ├─ Extract link details (e.g. bitrate, signal strength)
   └─ Record system version, kernel, architecture.

6. Restore Wired Network
   └─ Reapply original routes and configuration.

7. Upload Test Results
   └─ Summary, logs, and system info are uploaded as artifacts.

8. Power Off Devices
   └─ All test devices are safely powered down after testing completes.

WiFi performance

Measured 2026-07-01 11:47 UTC

48 wireless link(s) · ✅ 48 pass · 📶 peak ↑ 681 / ↓ 868 Mbps

IEEE 802.11ac

Board	Status	Attach	Chip	Channel	↑ Up (Mbps)	↓ Down (Mbps)
Banana Pi CM4IO	✅	SDIO	Realtek RTL8822CS	2437 MHz @ 20	15	28
Banana Pi CM4IO	✅	USB	Realtek RTL8821CU	2437 MHz @ 20	45	36
Banana Pi M2Pro	✅	USB	Realtek RTL8821CU	2437 MHz @ 20	28	43
BananaPi BPI-F3	✅	USB	Realtek RTL8822BU	5240 MHz @ 80	265	132
Helios4	✅	USB	Realtek RTL8821CU	5240 MHz @ 80	259	241
Khadas VIM1	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	5240 MHz @ 40	6	22
Khadas VIM2	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	5240 MHz @ 40	105	97
Khadas VIM3	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	5240 MHz @ 80	39	42
NanoPi M4V2	✅	SDIO	Broadcom BCM4356	5240 MHz @ 40	122	209
NanoPi M4V2	✅	USB	MediaTek MT7610	5240 MHz @ 80	131	245
NanoPi M5	✅	SDIO	Realtek RTL8822CS	5240 MHz @ 80	44	88
Orange Pi 3	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	5240 MHz @ 80	19	108
Orange Pi Lite 2	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	2437 MHz @ 20	29	37
Orange Pi Zero2	✅	—	Unisoc UWE5622	—	132	93
OrangePi 3 LTS	✅	—	Unisoc (unisoc_wifi)	—	44	22
Pine H64	✅	USB	Realtek RTL8812AU	5240 MHz @ 80	200	271
Raspberry Pi	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	5240 MHz @ 80	247	182
Tanix TX6	✅	SDIO	Realtek RTL8822CS	5240 MHz @ 80	119	103
UEFI x86	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	5240 MHz @ 40	25	22

IEEE 802.11ax

Board	Status	Attach	Chip	Channel	↑ Up (Mbps)	↓ Down (Mbps)
BananaPi BPI-F3	✅	SDIO	Realtek RTL8852BS	5240 MHz @ 80	352	394
Orange Pi 5 Plus	✅	USB	MediaTek MT7921	5240 MHz @ 80	646	350
Rock 5B	✅	PCIe	Realtek RTL8852BE	5240 MHz @ 80	199	609
Rock 5T	✅	PCIe	Realtek RTL8852BE	5240 MHz @ 80	348	450
Tinker Board 2	✅	PCIe	Realtek RTL8852AE	5240 MHz @ 80	332	416

IEEE 802.11be

Board	Status	Attach	Chip	Channel	↑ Up (Mbps)	↓ Down (Mbps)
Orange Pi 5 Plus	✅	PCIe	Qualcomm WCN7851	5240 MHz @ 160	232	784
Rock 5B Plus	✅	PCIe	MediaTek MT7925	6215 MHz @ 160	681	868

IEEE 802.11n

Board	Status	Attach	Chip	Channel	↑ Up (Mbps)	↓ Down (Mbps)
Banana Pi M2 Ultra	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	2437 MHz @ 20	33	44
Banana Pi M5	✅	USB	Realtek RTL8192CU	2437 MHz @ 20	37	27
Banana Pi Pro	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	2437 MHz @ 20	16	19
Cubietruck	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	2437 MHz @ 20	14	21
Cubox i2eX/i4	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	2437 MHz @ 20	21	22
Inovato Quadra	✅	SDIO	XRadio XR819	2437 MHz @ 20	12	23
NanoPi Duo	✅	SDIO	XRadio XR819	2437 MHz @ 20	1	14
NanoPi K2	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	2437 MHz @ 20	15	22
NanoPi R1	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	2437 MHz @ 20	13	15
NanoPi R4S	✅	USB	Ralink RT5370	2437 MHz @ 20	40	25
Odroid C4	✅	USB	Ralink RT5572	5240 MHz @ 40	56	93
Orange Pi R1	✅	SDIO	Realtek RTL8189ES	—	26	25
Orange Pi R1	✅	SDIO	Realtek RTL8189ES	—	29	29
Orange Pi Zero	✅	SDIO	XRadio XR819	2437 MHz @ 20	5	17
Orange Pi Zero	✅	USB	MediaTek MT7601	2437 MHz @ 20	12	13
Orange Pi Zero Plus	✅	SDIO	Realtek RTL8189FS	—	33	27
Orange Pi Zero Plus	✅	SDIO	Realtek RTL8189FS	—	35	26
Raspberry Pi	✅	SDIO	Broadcom (brcmfmac)	2437 MHz @ 20	17	24
Rock 5B Plus	✅	USB	Realtek RTL8723BU 802.11b/g/n	2437 MHz @ 20	13	17
Rock 5T	✅	USB	Ralink RT5572	5240 MHz @ 40	53	73
Tanix TX6	✅	USB	Ralink RT2870/RT3070	2437 MHz @ 20	28	10
Udoo	✅	USB	Ralink RT5370	2437 MHz @ 20	34	18

Contribute

• Assist us in developing and maintaining our testing system: Your expertise can help us enhance and optimize our test infrastructure. By contributing your skills, you can play a key role in ensuring the accuracy and reliability of our test results.

• Donate hardware: Your contribution of new hardware, whether it’s a wireless adapter or any other equipment, helps us expand our testing capabilities. We’re specifically looking for new wireless adapters that haven’t yet been added to our system. Your donation can directly impact the scope and depth of our tests.

• Join our team: Become part of our passionate and dedicated team. We’re looking for individuals who share our vision and are eager to contribute to the development of innovative testing solutions. Whether you have technical expertise or simply a willingness to learn, there’s a place for you here!

Other resources

• USB WiFi Adapter Information for Linux
• Official Linux Wireless documentation
• Armbian forum - Advanced users - Development